Source: ABS-CBN News
-- The Boston Celtics continued their late-season push with a 94-82 rout of the hapless New Jersey Nets, while the Oklahoma City Thunder survived a gritty effort from the undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves.
After going into halftime tied at 48-all, the Celtics dominated the second half as they allowed New Jersey to score only 34 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Kevin Garnett (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Brandon Bass (18 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles while Rajon Rondo had his 21st straight game with double-digit assists after dishing out 15 dimes.
"Garnett and Bass are a really good combination at the four and five, and that’s why they will have a chance come playoff time," Nets coach Avery Johnson said about the Celtics' frontcourt.
The Celtics push their record to 35-25 and now have a 3.5 game advantage over Philadelphia and New York in the Atlantic Division. With six games to go in the season, they are just three games behind Indiana for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
It was Avery Bradley who provided the spark for the Celtics, when he made back-to-back three-pointers in the third quarter that opened up a double-digit lead for Boston, 69-57.
"Avery made two big threes for us, but the three was huge because it stretched the game open for us," said Boston coach Doc Rivers.
Bradley finished with 18 points, 11 of which came during the crucial third period.
"We know what he can do. It's just about him developing his confidence and I said it over and over again, the more he plays, the more we show confidence in him," Paul Pierce said of Bradley.
The Celtics held the Nets to 37% field goal shooting for the game and went on to lead by as much as 17 points in the second half.
"They played harder and played better. They took us out of our rhythm, and then we couldn't stop them at the other end," said New Jersey point guard Deron Williams.
Williams finished with 12 points and 14 assists for the Nets, who fell to 22-39 this season.
Meanwhile, Kevin Durant put together a brilliant scoring performance and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Minnesota Timberwolves, 115-110.
Durant bucked foul trouble and scored 43 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the field on top of seven rebounds, and the Thunder managed to survive the Wolves, who were playing without All-Star forward Kevin Love (concussion).
"Every game against Minnesota is close," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "It's an overtime game or a last two-minute game. They play with a lot of confidence against us. Give them credit. They shot the ball well."
With Durant on the bench due to foul trouble in the third period, point guard Russell Westbrook kept the Wolves at bay, scoring 16 points in the period.
"Russell had it going in the third and he sacrificed for me to get some easy baskets," Durant said.
But with the Wolves knocking on the door in the final period, it was Durant who stepped up as he scored 20 points, including a dunk with 22 seconds to go that put OKC up five points, 112-107.
Minnesota managed to put up a challenge even with Love out thanks to strong play from their bench. Michael Beasley (26 points) and Anthony Randolph (22 points) came off the pine and backed up JJ Barea, who had 24 points and 10 assists.
But the Wolves could not make up for Love's absence on the boards, and the Thunder outrebounded them 53-39.
It was Oklahoma City's 44th victory against 16 losses this season. They remain one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs (42-16) for the top spot in the West.
Meanwhile, the shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards, 98-89.
The Cavs played without Kyrie Irving and Antawn Jamison, but had six players in double figures in beating the Wizards.
Source: ABS-CBN News
-- The Los Angeles Lakers nearly wasted all of a double-digit lead, but Kobe Bryant came up big down the stretch as he fired the Lakers to a 91-87 victory over the visiting New Jersey Nets.
The Nets had rallied back from a 17-point deficit thanks to point guard Deron Williams, who scored 20 points, including a long three-pointer with 1:29 to go that tied the game at 86-all.
After Bryant put the Lakers back on top with a jumper, Gerald Wallace once again cut into the lead by making one of two free throws.
With the Nets knocking on the door, Bryant sealed the victory when he drained a three-pointer that rattled through nearly every part of the rim before falling through with six seconds left in the game.
"It was just one of those shots, I guess," Bryant told NBA.com. "The basketball gods were with us."
"He's been making shots like that his whole career so it was no surprise," Williams said of Bryant’s shot.
Bryant finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Pau Gasol had a double-double with 22 points and 12 boards.
The Lakers were playing without All-Star center Andrew Bynum, who sprained an ankle in their previous game.
But Gasol and Bryant picked up the scoring slack, as they scored the Lakers first eight points in the game. Point guard Ramon Sessions also added to the scoring as he tallied 19 points on top of 11 assists and six rebounds.
Despite the loss, Nets head coach Avery Johnson commended his team for getting back in the game.
"We didn't have a good first quarter, but look at the defense we played in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. Normally, those balls like (Bryant's) will bounce out. Unfortunately for us, it bounced in," he said.
Even without Bynum, the Lakers outrebounded the Nets 50-38. Kris Humphries had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, while Wallace also scored 19 markers.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns survived a monster game from DeMarcus Cousins and defeated the Sacramento Kings, 109-100.
Cousins had a career-high 41 points to go along with 12 rebounds, but Steve Nash countered with another vintage performance to lead the Suns.
Nash had 18 points, 12 assists and six rebounds and five other Phoenix players scored in double figures.
"I believe tonight it was five against one. It was all five of us trying to guard Steve Nash," Cousins said. "All the credit to Steve. He's an incredible player."
The Kings were able to keep the game close for most of the night thanks in part to Cousins' strong performance.
But midway through the fourth period, Cousins committed an offensive foul that sparked an 8-2 Phoenix run, putting the Suns up 101-90. The Kings would not threaten again.
"I wouldn't call it a good win, but it was one we needed," said the Suns' Jared Dudley.
Phoenix's record now stands at 27-26, just 1.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Source: AFP,
NEWARK, New Jersey – The Miami Heat clinched the Southeast Division title with a 108-94 win over the New Jersey Nets behind 31 points and 11 rebounds from LeBron James.
"We don't want to be jaded," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's the first step. It's not our ultimate goal. We want to gobble up as many of those things as possible."
Heat's Dwyane Wade added 18 points and Chris Bosh had 16 as the Heat won their third straight and eighth in nine games.
The victory moved Miami (54-23) within 2 1/2 games of the Chicago Bulls in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago has six games remaining and Miami five.
Deron Williams finished with 18 points and 12 assists to lead the Nets, who have dropped six consecutive and 10 of 11.
Travis Outlaw added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Brook Lopez scored 16 points.
Source: AP,
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY —LeBron James scored 20 points, and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were close behind as the Miami Heat ended the New Jersey Nets’ two-game unbeaten start with a 101-78 victory Sunday.
Bosh finished with 18 points and Wade added 17, both getting most of them in Miami’s dominant first half before sitting out the fourth quarter. James played a little of the final period and added seven rebounds and seven assists.
It was the most impressive offensive performance yet for the Heat, who have won three straight since beginning their new era with a loss in Boston on opening night. Miami shot 68 percent in the first half, when its Big Three combined for 41 points—one fewer than New Jersey—and the stats only lowered when the reserves took over toward the end.
Mavericks 99, Clippers 83
At Los Angeles, Jason Kidd ended the first half with a 65-foot shot-put heave from inside the 3-point arc at the opposite end, and Caron Butler scored 17 points and Shawn Marion had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and seven rebounds for the defending Southwest Division champions in their first road game of the season. Kidd finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Rookie Blake Griffin had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who fell to 0-3 on the season under new coach Vinny Del Negro. None of the starters reached double digits until Griffin converted a slam dunk with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
Source: AP
-- LeBron James scored 32 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their 12th straight win Tuesday night, a 104-97 victory over the New Jersey Nets.
The win gives Cleveland the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. The Cavaliers (42-11) also have the best record in the league.
New Jersey (4-47) has the NBA's worst record and has lost seven straight. The Nets played without point guard Devin Harris, who has a sprained left shoulder. Courtney Lee led the Nets with 24 points.
James, who was named the Eastern Conference's player of the week for the fifth time this season Monday, was 13-of-21 from the field with 11 assists and three rebounds.
Jawad Willams scored a career-high 17 points while Anderson Varejao added 15 for Cleveland.
The Nets built an eight-point lead in the first quarter thanks primarily to 11 points by Jarvis Hayes, who hit three 3-pointers. Cleveland scored the last seven points of the quarter and went ahead for good early in the second period.
The Cavaliers' spurt was capped when with a highlight reel play at both ends of the court. It began when Shaquille O'Neal blocked Brook Lopez's shot at the basket. The 7-foot-1, 325-pound center grabbed the ball and dribbled up the floor before finding James on the wing. James made a perfect alley-oop pass to Varejao, who finished the play with a dunk, bringing the crowd to its feet. O'Neal then gave Varejao a resounding chest bump and the Nets called timeout.
James converted his own dunk off a lob pass from Daniel Gibson moments later.
The Cavaliers led by six points at halftime and stretched the margin to 10 on two occasions. The Nets cut the lead to four late in the period, but the Cavaliers put the game away with away with a 13-2 run to start the fourth quarter. Jawad Williams hit two 3-pointers while James added a 3-pointer and a fast break dunk, which built the lead to 91-74.
Lopez scored 23 points and Hayes added 19 for the Nets.
The Cavaliers are a league-best 23-3 at home, winning 10 straight and 21 of 22. The Nets have lost 15 straight on the road and are 1-27 away from home.
Cleveland hosts Orlando on Thursday night in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals, which the Magic won in six games.
